BPTO provides software registration manual in English and Spanish

BPTO has made available the Computer Program User Manual in Portuguese, English and Spanish versions. This is the first service of the Institute to have a trilingual manual.

With the manuals, BPTO intends to facilitate access to the internationally-registered software registration service in Brazil, valid in all member countries of the Berne Convention.

Access the manuals

E-Software system

Since 2017, the computer program registration process has been done completely online and with automated decisions through the e-Software system. After the implementation of the system, the certificate of registration became available on the BPTO Portal within 7 (seven) business days.

In recognition of this action, e-Software is one of the three finalists of the HDI ” Citizen IT Initiative 2019 ” award. The final contest will be on October 17th during EXPOGOV 2019.

News from: BPTO

Brazil and Denmark sign three agreements to stimulate innovation

Promote partnerships between Brazilians and Danes for innovation activities, including the generation and commercialization of Industrial Property assets, such as patents. This is the main objective of the three agreements signed on Monday, October 7, in Copenhagen (Denmark), by the president of the Brazilian Patent Office (BPTO), Claudio Furtado, with the director-general of the Danish Patent Office (DKPTO), Sune Stampe Sorensen, and with Danish Ambassador to Brazil, Nicolai Prytz.

According to the special secretary of Productivity, Employment and Competitiveness (SEPEC) of the Ministry of Economy, Carlos Da Costa, through the partnership with Denmark, Brazil gives a decisive impulse to expand innovation and, therefore, the competitiveness of Brazilian companies.

BPTO president, Cláudio Furtado, stressed the importance of the agreements to improve the innovation system in Brazil, as well as their positive effects on the economy. “We started a new model to improve the business environment in the country, in addition to promoting the creation and commercialization of Brazilian Intellectual Property in the world market,” he said.

The ceremony was also attended by the Brazilian ambassador in Denmark, Carlos Antonio da Rocha Paranhos. According to him, Brazil can be proud to have Denmark, one of the world leaders in innovation and intellectual property, as the first partner in a broad patent cooperation project.

New partnerships

The first agreement will encourage cooperation between companies from both countries in research, development, and innovation (RD&I). The mapping of potential participants is already being done in many regions of Brazil. One result of this work will be the creation of new patents and other Industrial Property assets in common, that is, involving two or more partners.

The second agreement will speed up the analysis of Brazilian patents in Denmark and vice versa so that these assets can be used effectively in both markets. This will be done through a new Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) type agreement, broader than the current one. In this PPH model, the result of patent examination done in one country can be leveraged in the other to speed up the process.

Finally, the third agreement involves the next stage of an Industrial Property asset: commercialization. It refers to the IP Marketplace, an online offering and trading platform for these assets, which was developed in Denmark and now has Brazilian adhesion. There are 6,000 registered trademark, patent and industrial design owners from 157 countries.

 

News from: BPTO

The University of Brasilia creates biofertilizer that increases productivity

The Chemistry Institute of the University of Brasilia (UnB), in partnership with Embrapa, has developed a nanotechnology capable of increasing plant productivity, increasing the nutritional value of food, reducing the use of pesticides and making crops less vulnerable to drought and plagues.

Krill A32, a luminescent carbon-based biofertilizer, is under patent application at the Brazilian Patent Office (BPTO).

The name Krill refers to small crustaceans (1 to 2 cm) that serve as food for various marine species, including whales, and are critical for maintaining ecosystems in the oceans. Nanotechnology handles atoms and molecules sized at 1 and 1000 nanometers, verifiable only in special equipment.

As it enables fast plant growth, nano-compost can be used to recover degraded areas, forest management for wood and pulp production, and intensification of agricultural activity – without the need to increase planted areas and shrink forests.

Nano-compound, which is non-toxic, can be applied to plant roots and leaves. The most advanced tests are with foliage. The application with lettuce, cotton, garlic, rice, cocoa, corn, soybean, and tomato was studied. As the substance is luminescent, its absorption in foods can be traced.

News from: Agência Brasil

BPTO will have 100% digital services

BPTO launched on Wednesday (July 31, 2019) the IP Digital Plan, which aims to expand and facilitate the provision of services over the Internet. The initiative is the result of the partnership with the Special Secretariat of Productivity, Employment and Competitiveness and the Digital Government Secretariat of the Ministry of Economy, as well as the Special Secretariat of State Modernization.

The plan foresees 24 actions, which will facilitate citizen service by deploying new information and communication technology resources. Among the measures is the deployment of e-Chip, an online system for ordering integrated circuit topographies. This will make BPTO’s services 100% digital.

A task force instituted by BPTO works to deploy new digital products. Among them, the following stand out:

  • Tool for the user to schedule, via the internet, attendance or distance attendance;
  • Evaluation system after the use of each service, via web and SMS;
  • Chatbot, a program that uses artificial intelligence to simulate conversations and provide information to the user;
  • New INPI portal, designed from user behavior;
  • Application of press releases and news;
  • Single Sign-On (Br Access), by adhering to the Digital Government Secretariat tool, through which it is possible to use digital public services with a single user registration;
  • Digital means of payment, such as credit and debit card, from solution under development by the Digital Government Secretariat.

With the IP Digital Plan, BPTO plans to adopt a new model of interaction with society, which values greater access to information, open data and the provision of a secure virtual environment for service provision.

The Plan also converges with the tools of the federal government’s Digital Citizenship Platform, which aims to expand and simplify Brazilian citizens’ access to digital public services, including through mobile devices.

 

News from: BPTO

BPTO starts publications about the Combat Patent Backlog Plan

The BPTO published in the Industrial Property Journal (RPI) on Tuesday (July 23, 2019) the first orders of the preliminary requirement (code 6.21) referring to the Combat Patent Backlog Plan. The procedure contemplates the patent applications in which BPTO incorporated the search report made by offices of other countries, according to the terms of Resolution No. 241/19.

The purpose of the published requirement is for the Applicant to express himself/herself on the documents cited and, if necessary, make adjustments to the application. Only after the response of the applicant, the BPTO’s Examiner will evaluate whether or not the patent should be granted, based on the Brazilian Industrial Property Law (9,279 / 1996). If the Applicant does not appear, the application will be definitively filed.

In order for users to be able to organize themselves to meet the requirements, the BPTO published statements in three editions of its official journal about this subject.

Preparation

The Board of Patents teams underwent intense preparation weeks before the Patent Backlog Plan was put into practice. New procedures were developed by the Quality Group and trainings were conducted with heads and examiners on the procedures to be implemented.

In early July, a general meeting was held to align information on planning, project implementation, and future capacity building, quality, and studies to address the current demand for order deposits. Examiners filled out at the regional units followed the distance meeting, so that they were also ready to support and inform users in the different states of Brazil.

 

News from: BPTO

BPTO will launch system access for opinions

The BPTO is finalizing a system that will allow the user to expedite the retrieval of the opinions generated during the examination of patent applications and published in the Industrial Property Magazine. The system, which provides the opinions for consultation and downloaded by machines, was presented by the Patent Office and the Information Technology General Coordination on July 15, 2019 for the Brazilian Association of Industrial Property Agents (ABAPI) and the Brazilian Association of Intellectual Property (ABPI), in order to resolve doubts and raise suggestions.

The initiative is within the framework of the Backlog Combat Plan, in order to facilitate access to the documentation produced by the examiners, be it the opinions of preliminary requirements, search reports or other opinions regarding the examination of the requests.

The system, which will commence operations in August, will retrieve documents relating to patent applications with the following official notices: 6.20 (pre-examination opinion), 6.21 (opinion with the search of documents made by IP offices in other countries) and 6.22 no search of other IP offices).

 

News from: BPTO

INPI and EPO extend their cooperation

The Brazilian Patent Office (BPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO) agreed on July 17, 2019 to work on broadening their cooperation. EPO President António Campinos and BPTO President Claudio Vilar Furtado signed a Joint Declaration in this regard at a bilateral meeting held during an event between the EPO and the IP offices of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries held in Munich, in Germany. They also signed an agreement renewing BPTO’s access to the EPOQUE Net database, an EPO patent search tool with more than 1.3 billion references.

In the Joint Statement, the Officers agreed to work on a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a pilot project, to strengthen the capacity to search and examine patent applications in the BPTO.

After the ceremony, Campinos highlighted the importance of cooperation with BPTO: “I am pleased to sign this Joint Declaration today since traditionally Brazil has been an important cooperation partner for the EPO in Latin America. BPTO has a great deal of expertise in the patent granting process and, with today’s signature, we are paving the way for a closer relationship between offices, benefiting businesses in both regions. ”

Along the same lines, Furtado said: “BPTO welcomes the expansion of the partnership with the EPO. This is an essential step in the modernization of the Institute, the pillar of Brazilian development, to make it a world-class player in industrial property. ”

Cooperation between BPTO and EPO began in 2000, with a first technical cooperation project between offices. This was followed by a series of bilateral agreements extending cooperation to include BPTO access to EPOQUE Net (in 2005) and, in 2017, a joint Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program, which allows applicants to request priority treatment for their pending patent applications at BPTO and EPO.

About EPO

With 7,000 employees, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service institutions in Europe. Headquartered in Munich and with offices in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague and Vienna, the EPO was founded to strengthen patent cooperation in Europe. Through the centralized patent granting procedure of the EPO, inventors can obtain high-quality patent protection in up to 44 countries covering a market of about 700 million people. The EPO is also one of the world’s leading patent information and search authorities.

 

News from: BPTO

The approved project that reduces the term of patent of medicines

The Social Affairs Commission (CAS) approved the Senate Bill (PLS) 437/2018 on Wednesday. The bill limits the ownership of drug patents by 20 years. Authorized by Senator José Serra (PSDB-SP), the proposal adapts Brazilian legislation to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which Brazil is a signatory.

TRIPS – signed by Brazil, the United States, the European Union, Japan and other nations in 1994 – provides that property rights over intellectual creation, a patent, expire after 20 years of registration.

PLS 437/2018 received a favorable vote from the Rapporteur, Senator Romário (Podemos Party-RJ). In his evaluation, the project has the potential to improve the licensing of medicines patents in the country. From the sanitary point of view, said Romário, the project corrects flaws or omissions in the legislation in force.

“Through these extended patent validation strategies, the industry delays the arrival of generic drugs on the market and prolongs its economic gains from the original product monopoly. This harms both consumers directly and public pharmaceutical care policies, in which the main purchaser of medicines is the government, and in this context, the measures envisaged in the project under review reinforce Anvisa’s role and its obligation to evaluate patent applications from the perspective of health interest,” said the senator.

The text was followed by the Commission for Science, Technology, Innovation, Communication and Information Technology (CCT) and then by the Commission on Constitution, Justice, and Citizenship (CCJ), which will be a final decision.

 

News from: Agência Senado

Madrid Protocol: Learn how to apply

On July 2, 2019, Brazil filed at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) the instrument of adhesion to the Madrid Protocol, an international treaty that simplifies and reduces costs for the registration of trademarks of Brazilian companies in other countries.

The treaty enters into force in Brazil on October 2, 2019. As of that date, the Brazilian applicant who intends to register a trademark in other countries via the Madrid Protocol will file an international application within the BPTO. It can be a multiclass application and with more than one applicant in co-ownership.

In turn, the foreign applicant who wishes to register a trademark in Brazil may also choose to use the Madrid Protocol.

The filing is electronic, by means of payment of the Union Collection Guide (GRU) and then filling in the English or Spanish form MM2 in E-trademarks, a system also used for the national filing.

 

News from: BPTO

After Mercosur-EU, Brazil negotiates other international trade agreements

The agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, signed at the end of June, may be the beginning of a series of new international trade treaties involving Brazil. The special secretary of Foreign Trade and International Affairs, Marcos Troyjo, recently reported that new agreements, with other countries and blocs, are under negotiation.

The countries involved are the United States, Japan, South Korea and Efta, a bloc of countries comprising Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein. This block is not part of the European Union. For Troyjo, the agreement with the European Union brings a “new model of economic development and international insertion” for Brazil.

Speech aligned with that of the Foreign Minister, Ernesto Araújo, who also stressed the new vision of “international insertion” of the country. “This agreement [Mercosur-EU] unlocks and accelerates other negotiations, we intend very soon to close new agreements. I think we have the condition to close two more agreements this semester, at least”, the foreign minister said at a press conference.

He added Singapore to the list of ongoing negotiations. The minister believes that over a two-year period, the government will create a “very dense network of trade agreements with major economies, technological hubs”.

Currently, Mercosur has two free trade agreements signed with Egypt and Israel. The two already validated by Brazilian presidential decrees. Brazil has signed a free trade agreement with Chile, but the process has not yet begun. International agreements before they come into force need congressional endorsement.

According to the technical area of the Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade, “there is great interest in closer economic-trade ties with Japan and the United States, but there is no negotiation of a trade agreement in progress at this time”, despite what the minister said and the special secretary. All agreements under negotiation are via Mercosur.

Impact

The agreements cover several areas ranging from trade in goods and services to intellectual property, according to the ministry. Among the impacts, it is expected that, as of the closing of the agreements, it will be possible to “eliminate import tariffs for substantially all trade between the parties and reduce non-tariff barriers, generating additional increases to the Brazilian GDP.”

Countries under negotiation:

United States
  • GDP: US $ 21.06 trillion (first quarter of 2019)
  • Population: 329.2 million
  • Income per capita: US $ 59,800 (2017)
  • 1st world economy

Brazil intends to take advantage of the timeframe of the Trade Promotion Authority – a document that the US Congress grants the Executive to negotiate international agreements, valid until July 2021 – to accelerate negotiations with the United States, said Marcos Troyjo, in an interview with the BBC Brazil.

Japan
  • GDP: $ 4,873 trillion (2017)
  • Population: 126.1 million (July / 2018)
  • Income per capita: US $ 42,900 (2017)
  • 3rd world economy
South Korea
  • GDP: US $ 1.54 trillion (2017)
  • Population: 51.4 million (July / 2018)
  • Income per capita: US $ 39,500 (2017)
  • 11th world economy

Negotiations on an agreement between Mercosur and South Korea began in May 2018 and are in the initial phase. Two rounds of negotiations were held.

Canada
  • GDP: $ 1,653 trillion (2017)
  • Population: 35.8 million (July / 2018)
  • Income per capita: US $ 48,400 (2017)
  • 10th world economy

According to the Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade, negotiations for this agreement were announced on March 9, 2018, in Asuncion, Paraguay. The negotiations are advanced. Six negotiating rounds have already been held – the most recent in June this year.

Singapore
  • GDP: US $ 323.9 billion (2017)
  • Population: 5.9 million (July / 2018)
  • Income per capita: US $ 94,100 (2017)
  • 35th world economy

A round of negotiations was held with the country and the expectation of completion is 2020, according to the ministry.

Efta – European Free Trade Association
  • Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein
  • The four countries together bring together 13.7 million people
  • GDP of the block: EUR 963.9 million

    A Joint Declaration between the blocs was signed on January 19, 2017, to complete the exploratory dialogues on free trade. As of June this year, nine negotiation rounds have been held and some chapters of the agreement have already been finalized.

The dialogue with Efta began in December 2000, when the Joint Mercosur-EFTA Committee emerged. The bloc already has a free trade agreement with Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Block Negotiations

  • Efta with Brazil
    Imports: EUR 1,906 million
    Exports: EUR 2,671 million
  • Efta with Mercosur
    Imports: 2,093 million euros
    Exports: 3,696 million euros
  • Efta Worldwide Businesses
    Imports: EUR 255,3 million
    Exports: 310.7 million euros

 

News from: Gazeta do Povo